André Joosten (NL)

A double exhibition by one of the Netherlands’ leading set designers.

Painter and set designer André Joosten (1954–2024) studied painting at the Academy of Fine Art and scenography at the Jan van Eyck Academy, both in Maastricht. From 1981 onwards, he worked as a freelancer in the theatre sector. He contributed to over 250 theatre, opera, music and musical productions at home and abroad and created sets for, amongst others, Het Nationale Toneel, Toneelgroep De Appel, the Noord Nederlands Toneel, Het Vervolg (the predecessor of Toneelgroep Maastricht) and Opera Zuid. He also collaborated with, amongst others, Lodewijk de Boer, Johan Doesburg, Ola Mafaalani, Ko van den Bosch, Hanna van Mourik Broekman and Peter Vandemeulebroecke. Yet at heart, he remained an independent painter.

For much of his life, Joosten kept the worlds of theatre and painting separate. In his view, the two disciplines continued to compete with one another, even though the thought process was one and the same. After ten years working at the Noord Nederlands Toneel in Groningen, he moved back to Limburg in 2017. He wanted to go to Maastricht but ended up in Heerlen: a city that better suited his temperament, a city that, since the closure of the mines, had remained raw and unpolished. Where the rough edges still lingered. Here he felt at ease. In recent years, he worked closely with Stormkamer from Breda. It was a happy partnership. In his theatre series for Stormkamer, he was given the opportunity to integrate his independent painting into the theatrical structure. In 2024, aged 69, he passed away in Heerlen.